This thesis explores the relationship between masculinity and work amongst young men in three Category C prisons in England: HMPYOI Swinfen Hall, HMPYOI Isis and HMP Wealstun. Prison masculinities research has tended to focus on spectacular and hypermasculine behaviours. This is in sharp contrast to the nuance and diversity suggested by contemporary sociological studies of masculinities. One explanation for the narrow lens through which prison masculinities have traditionally been studied is that prisoners’ work experiences, both in prison and in the community, are often overlooked. By exploring prisoner masculinities, work experiences, and the relationships between them, this thesis endeavours to illustrate the complexity and multiplicity of prisoner masculinities, and the significance of prison work to studies of imprisonment.

This thesis is based on research conducted in three prisons over nine months and involved prolonged periods of observations in prison workplaces alongside 88 semi-structured interviews with young male prisoners. First, the thesis describes prison work provisions across the sites and outlines four ‘purposes’ of ‘purposeful activity’ identified by participants. It demonstrates that prisoners believe prison work should be rehabilitative but in practice find it is primarily a means of coping with the pains of imprisonment, and that the largely unfulfilled rehabilitative ideal has consequences for trust, legitimacy, and staff-prisoner relationships that are often overlooked in prison sociology. Second, the thesis presents a typology of prisoner masculinities and explores how different men use prison work as a ‘masculinity resource’. It highlights the significance of work experiences – both in prison and in the community – to prisoner masculinities and demonstrates how distinct strategies for engaging with prison work shape prisoner society. These findings also suggest that it may be helpful to distinguish between prison work that is purposeful versus that which is meaningful, the latter being work that impacts prisoners’ lives long-term because of its relevance to prisoner masculinities and aspirations for future work. Overall, by promoting more nuanced discussions around prisoner masculinities and highlighting the value of further research into prison work, this thesis hopes to demonstrate how greater consideration of these subjects can facilitate a deeper understanding of prisoner society and the experience of imprisonment.